Big Country (1958), The

We have the East vs West notions of law and justice. Sea captain
Gregory Peck is aghast at the violent feuding between two powerful
families. But is patriarch Charles Bickford wrong when he points out
they have to enforce their own law on the frontier? You'd think Peck,
used to long sea voyages, would understand that, but as a newcomer
perhaps he sees opportunities for compromise more clearly. And he
might be wiser and more just than the others. It is hard to control
vigilante justice once it begins.

There is also the contest of characters: between those whose courage
must be publicly displayed, conforming to a social code, and those who
follow conscience and an internal moral compass, regardless of public
opinion. Ranch foreman Charlton Heston is the perfect example of the
former: the tough and virtuous cowboy challenged by Peck's contrary
example.

Heston oozes masculine contempt for the rival who does not measure
up. We quickly decide he is a better match for ranch daughter Carroll
Baker, and he agrees.

Apart from that, the setting is oddly domestic: the West has been
settled and now it's struggles over water rights, property titles,
love and marriage. The big ranch house with grand parties is a
frontier fantasy. The story has more comedy than I remember.

At 2 3/4 hours it takes some endurance to get through. A few
"relationship" scenes could have been compressed. We have the big
beatdown between Peck and Heston, then duel #1 between Peck and
Connors, then a somewhat overblown duel between the old men.

Chuck Connors was born to play villains; no way to remove than
dangerous glint in his eyes.

Burl Ives, Jean Simmons and Carroll Baker are all fine. Charles
Bickford is irreplaceable as the hard, unsmiling patriarch.

Alfonso Bedoya, who plays Ramón the stable boss, died eight days after
finishing this film.

The score is the traditional Copland-inspired Americana of the
West. Filmed in
[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technirama]Technirama[/url].